Chapter 74 - Another Breakable Friendship : Part 1

The moon followed the 16-year-old Vergessene as he rushed over to Rune's house. Before arriving at her big fancy house, Axel ensured there was no blood on him after he shot the guy's shoulder earlier.

It was good that Aster's brother was the lieutenant. The blond volunteered to handle the rest, making Axel be able to go back on time.

When the boy arrived in front of the gates, he smiled at the security that quickly let him in. He noticed the sad eyes that always greeted him every time he crossed the gates.

The security was the one who called for Rune when Axel arrived at the house that day after running away from Kiaran. The man watched all the cuts on his body with pity, maybe thinking he was getting abused.

Well, now that he thought about it, he kind of got abused a couple of times. But he was a murderer too, so it did not matter.

He waved at the security and bid goodbye as he made his way to the house. There were four floors which each window glowed from the lights inside. The decoration was in plain colours, but you could guess how fancy everything was.

The house basically screamed expensive.

It was the President's house anyway. What did you expect?

Speak of the President...

"Ah, hello, s-sir." Axel froze in his place when he met a red-haired guy just as he opened the door.

There stood the President in a grey robe, holding a white mug with 'World's greatest father' words on it. He wore a pair of white bunny slippers and round glasses.

"Uh, you seem familiar," Alfred cleared his throat awkwardly. "-do I know you?"

Axel bowed slightly at the man and tried to smile. "The name is Axel, sir. I'm your daughter's-"

"-boyfriend?" The President cut him off with an innocent yet tight tone.

"What-" Axel accidentally let out a high-pitch voice and tried to cover it with a cough. "N-no, I was about to say best friend."

"Oh." Alfred nodded and scanned the boy with his hazel eyes. "I heard about you, boy. She cherishes you a lot as her best friend." He continued and took a sip from his mug.

The red-haired guy pointed the mug at Axel. "Thought you had become her boyfriend since you wanted to meet my daughter at night."

Axel frowned. How did that have any relation by being a boyfriend and coming at night?

Oh.

The realization hit him hard that his face turned completely red. "We're sixteen, sir! There's no way I'd- I'd-" Axel choked on his words, completely flustered.

"I know. I'm just teasing you, boy," Alfred smirked at him and continued. "Then, if you had been mature enough, you would do it?"

"D-do it?" Axel's face had become redder than any human could possibly become.

Alfred fondly smiled at the boy and ruffled his hair. "You're so fun to tease."

"Axel! Father!" A girly voice called alongside the sound of rushing footsteps. Rune quickly went into Axel's vision and somehow made the boy blush hard at the sight of her.

Her ponytail messily bounced around as she ran. Her eyelashes dropped down when she blinked and flawlessly made her hazel eyes stand out beautifully.

"Dude, I was waiting for you like forever," Rune spoke as she tried to catch her breath at the same time.

"But I think I know the reason why it took so long." She glared at her father, who just shrugged at her.

Alfred affectionately stared at the two as they talked. He tuned down their conversations and just watched the two laughing with each other.

He somehow could see himself in Rune and Cain inside the boy. Back when they were best friends, back when they were too young yet forced to be mature. Back then, everything was okay. He remembered how it was always him and Cain against the world.

Now it was him against Cain inside this messed up world.

He just hoped that Axel would not turn out to be like his father. He wished that the boy truly had a normal life.

"Father, I'm going to bring Axel to his room." Rune broke his thoughts away, and Alfred could not help but focus on her.

She moved closer to him and brought her mouth close to his ear. "He's kinda running away right now. I hope that's okay with you." His daughter whispered secretively and quickly united with the boy again.

"Come on, Axel." She exclaimed and grabbed the boy's hand. The two walked alongside each other as they slowly disappeared from Alfred's view.

The steam of his mug had long disappeared for how long Alfred stood there, looking at the corner where his daughter and Cain's son disappeared to.

"He looks a lot like you, Cain." The red-haired mumbled, doleful eyes forming into a guilty daze.

"I wonder if this is karma by letting the history repeat in front of me just to punish me."

Alfred looked away to the opened door and gazed at the judging moon. "I wonder what your karma is, Cain."

✵✵✵✵✵✵

Axel moved back and forth in his sleep. He was frowning with two shut eyes. Sweats started to form on his forehead. His curls were plastered to his forehead as the air caught the weak moonlight from his window.

He let out a helpless groan and withered in his sleep. His breath became ragged as the boy gritted his teeth in pain.

Axel jolted up with sweats all over his body. He writhed in pain, wordless cries escaping his lips while trying to stop himself from screaming. It felt like there was ice growing into tiny spikes, wrapping around his heart and squeezing it tight.

Yet, there was lava melting into his bones at the same time, melting with his flesh. His vision was swimming, and he found himself stumbling out of bed. Terror clawed inside him as the memory of how his demon father stabbed his heart.

He could feel the invisible shadow of the hand getting even deeper that he was sure the tip of it touched his heart. He could feel it push down into his heart. It fueled his chest, something that was spreading like fire but acting like water.

He never thought he would experience the pain again. He was dying. He was going to die.

He felt the warm tears rolling down his cheeks, dropping into the floor and staining it black.

His tears were black.

He gasped for air desperately and tried to wipe the tears away. His eyes moved into a mirror that he had covered with black cloth and quickly removed it.

The boy stood there, watching his red and blue eyes overflowing with black liquid. He could feel the panic stabbing the inside of his body as Axel choked on nothing.

He tried to breathe as he could not seem to move from where he stood. It was as if there was a force in his body that was keeping him there, watching his own reflection in horror.

But then his reflection disappeared.

Axel thought it was the doing of the demons inside the mirror that was probably watching him right now. But then he was proven wrong when he looked at his own hands and found nothing.

It was not only his reflection. It was him too.

He disappeared.

Axel gasped for air again and staggered back, falling into the bed and going through it. He was inside the bed now.

He quickly stood up and slowly backed away from the bed with two terrified mismatched eyes. He bumped into a desk and jolted forward.

Please. Please be there. Please let him be there. He begged silently.

He looked down again and found himself instead of nothing. He trembly brought his hands up to see them flashing back and forth from nothingness into solid again.

"Axel, are you okay?"

Axel snapped his head toward his door upon hearing Rune's voice. He warily looked around at the mess that he had caused and went back to stare at the door again.

"Axel?" She called once more with an etching worry in her voice. "Axel, it's me, Rune. I heard a scream."

The boy did not know what to do. He just froze there with hands that kept disappearing and black tear stains on both of his pale cheeks. The sweats glued his fluffy hair on his forehead, and his two mismatched eyes were puffy.

"Axel, I'm going to open the door!" She exclaimed, and Axel could see the doorknob slowly turned.

"Don't!" Axel yelled in instinct and slammed his body to the door. He tried so hard to lock the door with his disappearing hands.

"I'm fine." He reassured, trying to make Rune go away.

She could not see his state right now. She could never see him like this.

"Do you want me to come in?" Rune softened her voice after a while. No matter how much Axel wanted her to comfort him right now and tell her everything, he couldn't.

"No- don't," Axel answered, putting a hand on the door to hold his weight. "Don't." He repeated.

"Okay. I'll stay here, alright?" After a beat of silence, Rune finally talked again. "If anything happens, I will always be here for you."

"So please, don't be hard on yourself."

And so the red-haired girl sat there with her back on the door, waiting. Axel also sat there, hugging his knees as he let his head lay on the door. The two were separated by a single door all night; one was hoping for the other to come out, one did not want to come out.

They stayed like that until morning.

Axel did not come out the whole day.